Integration of remote bidders into multiple and simultaneous live auctions

ABSTRACT

Multiple simultaneous auctions can be monitored and participated in using a single bidding device operated by a single remote bidder. A multi-windowed environment allows for the display of active bidding windows and docked bidding windows. The active bidding windows are fully functional bidding windows and include auction status, product information and the like. The docked bidding windows provide a subset of the information but, nonetheless provide real-time auction status information and allows for bidders to enter bids into the auctioning process without having to move the bidding window into an active status. A customer-identifier selector of identifier allows the remote bidder to associate a customer with a particular bidding window. The customer-identifier advantageously helps the remote bidder to track who purchased items are associated with, as well as providing control structure over the bidding process.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of the U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/685,647 that was filed on Jan. 11, 2010, whichapplication is a continuation of the U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/164,796 filed on Dec. 6, 2005 and issued on Feb. 16, 2000 as U.S.Pat. No. 7,664,677, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/913,886 filed on Aug. 6, 2004 and issued on May11, 2010 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,716,090, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/866,191 filed on May 25, 2001 and issuedas U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,612 on Nov. 2, 2004, which claims benefit of thefiling date of U.S. provisional application for patent having beenassigned Ser. No. 60/207,030, and filed on May 25, 2000.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of converging real-lifeevents and remote access through network communications and, moreparticularly, to enabling remote audiences to participate in multipleand simultaneous traditional live auctions in a manner that allows theuser to instantaneously interact with and enjoy the emotion andenthusiasm of a traditional, live auction (i.e., view items for sale,view live bidding, hear the auctioneer calling bids, view the activitiesof the onsite participants, make bids, buy items) from a position thatis physically remote from the live auction, as well as network-onlybased-only auctions.

The auction floor is typically an exciting and emotionally chargedenvironment. Whether the auction is focused on selling automobiles,items of fine art, construction equipment or the like, there is nothingthat compares to standing in the crowd of bidders, listing to thechatter of the auctioneers, the yippers and the shouts of the bidders.In addition, the auction floor allows for the potential bidders toinspect the vast array of products to be auctioned by kicking the tiresof an automobile, feeling the smoothness of a precious vase, listeningto the roar of a diesel engine and otherwise developing a fondness forthe object of their bidding efforts. However, in today's fast pacedworld, the advantages of participating in a live auction from a remotelocation are exceedingly evident. Prior to systems such as the onepatented by Auction Management Solutions in U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,612, acompany seeking to acquire products had to send one or morerepresentative to the various auctions. Not only was this burdensome onoverhead, such as having to hire sufficient personnel to attend theauctions and pay the travel expenses, but the companies also had totrain the individuals so that they would be efficient at identifyingproducts that were beneficial to the company as well as being effectiveand smart bidders. With the remote capabilities introduced by AuctionManagement Solutions, remote bidders are able to participate in a liveauction from the comfort of their office with little or no disadvantageover the bidders that are present on the auction floor. The remotebidders can review the products and inspection information about theproducts, bid on the items in a competitive manner, and experience theexcitement of the auction floor through audio and video feeds that aredelivered to the remote bidder.

Typically, auction houses are set up to handle multiple auctions. Assuch, several auctions can be active at any given time for a singleauction house. Traditionally, a company interested in acquiring multipleproducts to be auctioned in different auctions at a single auction housewould be required to send multiple representatives to assure that thevarious auctions were covered. In many auction houses, the multipleauctions are conducted in what is referred to as lanes. As such, producttraverses through one of the multiple lanes and bidders bid on thecurrent item being auctioned in a particular lane. In the most favorablecircumstance, a single person would only be able to cover two adjacentlanes for items that are being auctioned simultaneously. More typical, asingle bidder would be required to run from one lane to the next in aneffort to cover as many auctions as possible. However, it is clear thatvariances in scheduling and conducting the various auctions, coupledwith the crowds attending the auction, can make it exceedingly difficultfor a single individual to adequately cover an auctioning house. Thisproblem is even more exasperated when auctions are being conducted atgeographically dispersed auction houses. For a remote bidder using asystem such as Auction Management Solutions' ONLINE RINGMAN, the entireauction house can be traversed simply by changing the auction or auctionlane in which the bidder is bidding. Yet, even using such a solution,the remote bidder can only monitor and participate in a single auctionat a time. Thus, there is a need in the art for an improved system thatallows a single bidder to participate in multiple remote auctions in asimultaneous manner.

Often times, a company will hire a broker buyer or dealer representativeto purchase assets on the company's behalf. Such broker buyers maytypically be purchasing assets for multiple companies or dealers at asingle auction or at multiple auctions. Such individuals need to monitorand bid in several auctions simultaneously. In addition, the brokerbuyer needs a mechanism to track which products are being purchased forwhich dealers or companies. To maximize or improve the efficiency andprofitability of a broker buyer, it would be advantageous to operate ina remote mode and to participate in multiple auctions simultaneously.More particularly, it would be advantageous for a single broker buyer tobe able to adequately cover an entire auction house, monitor andparticipate in multiple-simultaneous auctions, and keep track of thedealer associated with the various assets acquired through the auction.Thus, there is a need in the art for a system that addresses the needsof a broker buyer.

A broker buyer serving multiple companies may also be required toimplement various bidding strategies and company induced constraintsduring the auctioning process. As such, the broker buyer must maintainan awareness of what company he or she is currently engaged in a biddingbattle for and ensure that those bidding strategies and constraints areemployed. This can be quite burdensome on a broker buyer and can easilysubject the broker buyer to committing errors. Thus, there is a need inthe art for a system that alleviates this burden on a broker buyer.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides improvements to Auction ManagementSolutions ONLINE RINGMAN system that allows for prospective auctionbidders to participate both in person as well as in a remote capacity,but can be equally applied in other similar systems. The presentinvention enables an individual to remotely participate in a liveauction (e.g., via the Internet or some other global or wide areanetwork), sharing the same emotion and enthusiasm as the local audience,participating in the bidding process with negligible or no disadvantagejust as if those physically remote bidders were sitting in the localauction audience, and to monitor and participate in multiple auctioningevents regardless of whether the multiple auctioning events occursimultaneously, consecutively, or are time-wise and spatially separated.However, it should be appreciated that various aspects and features ofthe present invention may equally be applied in a completely onlineauctioning system that is not associated with a live auction floor inany manner.

One aspect of the present invention is the ability to display multiplebidding screens with each bidding screen representing a presently activeauction in either a docked state or an active state. The active statebidding windows provide greater detail and control than the dockedbidding windows, and also enable the highest quality audio and videofeeds. However, advantageously the docked bidding windows allow a remotebidder to still monitor and participate in other auctions at the sametime.

Another aspect of the present invention is to allow for the associationof a customer-identifier with one or more of the bidding windows. Thisfeature advantageously allows for purchased items to be associated witha particular customer, as well as providing a mechanism to automate andcontrol the bidding process in a customer-centric manner. Thus, a remotebidder participating in multiple auctions in a simultaneous manner canrest assured that the items purchased through the various auctions willbe earmarked for particular customers, and that specific biddingstrategies, constraints and desires of a particular customer can beautomatically or at least encouraged to be incorporated into thebidder's activity.

One embodiment of the present invention is a method for enabling aremote bidder to actively participate in and monitor multiplesimultaneous auctioning events using a single bidding device. An activebidding window associated with a first auctioning event is displayed onthe bidding device. The active bidding window includes a high-level ofdetailed information regarding the first auctioning event and includes abidding button that can be selected or actuated by the remote bidder.

A docked bidding window associated with a second auctioning event isalso displayed on the bidding device. The first docked bidding windowincludes a lower level of detailed information regarding the secondauctioning event and includes a bidding button or actuator. Inoperation, the bidding device receives an actuation of the activebidding window bidding actuator and forwards a signal to a bidprocessing system managing the first auctioning event. In addition, thebidding device can receive status information from the bid processingsystem managing the first auctioning event and displaying the statusinformation in the active bidding window.

The bidding device is also able to receive an actuation of the firstdocked bidding window bidding actuator and similarly forwards a signalto a bid processing system managing the second auctioning event, as wellas receive status information from the bid processing system.

In some embodiments, the bidding device may receive an audio feed thatis associated with the auction represented in the active state biddingwindow and then deliver this audio signal to the remote bidder.

Embodiments of the present invention may also include the ability forthe bidding device to receive customer-identification selections for oneor more of the bidding windows. Based on the value of thecustomer-identification selection, the bidding activity associated witha particular window can be marked as associated with a particularcustomer as well as be controlled in a manner desired by the particularcustomer.

The active and docked windows may include various active controls thatcan be actuated and invoke actions on the bid processing systemregardless of the current state of the bidding widow. Thus, withouthaving to activate a bidding window and turn on the audio while killingthe audio for another auctioning event, the remote bidder can actuallyactively participate in a bidding battle in a docked bidding window.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, audio and video mayonly be provided for active bidding screens. In another embodiment,audio may only be provided for active bidding screens but, video may beprovided to all bidding screens, either at the same quality level or ata reduced quality level for docked bidding screens.

Another aspect of the present invention is to enable the remote bidderto change the state of a bidding window from an active state to a dockedstate, and visa versa as desired and/or acquired. In addition,mechanisms and rules can be employed within the bidding device toautomatically change the state of a bidding window or at a minimum,prompt the remote bidder regarding important information that maysuggest to the remote bidder that he or she needs to change the state ofa bidding window.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary environment suitable forvarious embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a screen shot of an exemplary display for a bidding deviceincorporating an embodiment of the multiple bidding window aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2B is a screen shot of an exemplary display that includes adashboard section that has been resized to hold 6 mini-bidding screens.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an exemplary embodiment of the active ormain bidding screen.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged screen shot of an exemplary embodiment of amini-bidding screen.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged screen shot of an exemplary embodiment of amini-bidding screen that is associated with an active or main biddingscreen and that is shown as residing in an auto bid mode.

FIG. 6 is a screen shot of a main or active bidding window that includesan embodiment of the broker buyer tracking aspect of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 7A-7C are flow diagrams illustrating the operations involved in aparticular embodiment of aspects of the present invention operatingwithin a bidding device.

FIG. 8 is a screen shot representing another aspect or feature that canbe incorporated into various embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a screen shot illustrating a multi-lane login feature from theuser interface.

FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B are two screen shots illustrating a mobileembodiment of the auction control dashboard.

FIG. 11 is a screen shot of a portable embodiment showing that themobile environment can include audio and video during the auctioningevent.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides improvements in online-auctioningcapabilities for both integrated on-line and traditional style auctions,and completely on-line type auctions. One aspect of the presentinvention is the provision of a multi-windowed environment that allowsfor the display of active bidding windows and docked bidding windows.The active bidding window(s) is a fully functional bidding windowincluding auction status, product information and the like. The dockedbidding windows provide a subset of the information but, nonethelessprovide real-time auction status information and allows for bidders toenter bids into the auctioning process without having to move thebidding window into an active status. Another aspect of the presentinvention is utilizing a customer-identifier that can be selected by aremote bidder and associated with a particular bidding window. Thecustomer-identifier advantageously helps the remote bidder to track whopurchased items are associated with, as well as providing controlstructure over the bidding process.

Turning now to the figures, various embodiments, aspects and features ofthe present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary environment suitable forvarious embodiments of the present invention. In the illustratedenvironment, the system includes:

An audio/video system 100 for delivering live audio and video feeds fromthe auction floor to the remote bidders;

One or more bidding devices 110 used by the remotely participatingbidders to, among other things, monitor various auctions, bid on variousitems and render the audio and video information to the bidder; and

A bid processing system 120 that operates to control the interactionamong the remote bidders, a clerk and/or an auctioneer and the localbidders attending the auction.

In an exemplary embodiment, the audio/video system 100 includes a videosource 104, an audio source 106, an audio/video capture system 102, allof which are typically located at the auction site and an audio/videotransmitter 103 to providing the audio and video signals to the one ormore bidding devices 110. The audio/video system 100 operates to receivean audio and/or video stream from the audio/video capture system 102,provide the encapsulated data to the audio/video transmitter 103 andthen to deliver this data to one or more bidder devices 110. Theaudio/video capture system 102, which can be implemented in a variety ofmanners, one of which may consist of suitable hardware cards installedin a computer system, encapsulates the audio/video stream from theauction floor. The audio/video capture system 102 obtains the audioand/or video streams by interfacing to the audio source 106 and/or thevideo source 104. The audio/video system 100 operates to gather thisaudio and/or video data and transmit or broadcast the data in anappropriate format to one or more of the bidder devices 110. Furtherdetails of one embodiment of the audio/video system 100 can be found inU.S. Pat. No. 6,813,612; however, it will be appreciated that many otherembodiments can be utilized in various implementations of the presentinvention and in addition, aspects and features of the present inventionmay be incorporated into a system that does not provide audio, video orboth.

The bid processing system 120 may take on a variety of embodiments, suchas those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,612, and/or encapsulated inthe ONLINE RINGMAN system developed and marketed by Auction ManagementSolutions of Tampa Fla., as well as other similar systems. Forillustrative purposes, a non-limiting example of a suitable bidprocessing system 120 may include a bid system 125 and a clerk system130. Data for an item to be sold in the auction can be extracted from acatalog system 150 that maintains the pre-sales information prior to theauction start, and transferred to the bid system 125, and broadcast tovarious bidder devices 110 and/or to a marquee system 140 to bedisplayed on a marquee display device 108 located on the auction flooras the items are auctioned. Alternatively or in addition, the biddingdevices 110 may interface directly to the catalog system 150 to obtainsuch information. A starting bid is established on the clerk system 130either based on the pre-sales information, by the auctioneer or by theclerk, and then bids are accepted from floor or remote bidders. Statuspertaining to the bidding process, such as bids placed, identity ofbidding participants, bid acceptance, etc. may be transmitted to themarquee system 140 and/or the bidder devices 110, and logs can bemaintained identifying activity including status of each bid made by aremote bidder or local bidder. The bid system 125 may include a “bidengine” algorithm to facilitate controlling the bidding process. The bidengine can be implemented to support one or more of the bidding modelsthat function to control the bidding process. The various bidding modelscan be used to define the level of automation in the bidding process(i.e., whether the auctioneer is in total control of all aspects of thebidding process or if some of the functions are performed automaticallyoutside of the auctioneers control), the bid increments, the ability toenter starting bids, display formats, etc. U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,612defines four specific bidding models identified as the CHEROKEE,IROQUOIS, MOHAWK and APACHE models, however, other bidding models mayalso be utilized in conjunction with the various aspects and features ofthe present invention.

A detailed embodiment of an exemplary bidding device 110 is more fullydescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,612, however, it should be appreciatedthat various aspects and features of the present invention can berealized in other embodiments of a bidding device. Basically, forvarious embodiments of the present invention, the bidding device simplyneeds to include a display, a user input interface, a bid processingsystem interface, a processing unit for executing a software or firmwareprocess implementing the various steps involved in present invention andoptionally an audio output interface. Thus, the bidding device may be astand alone computer, a networked computer, a laptop computer, a tabletcomputer, a smart phone, a custom handheld portable device, a softwareapplication that can be downloaded onto a computer or portable device,such as a smart phone, etc.

Aspects of the present invention can be implemented using a variety ofhardware platforms, software languages and programming environments.Those skilled in the art will readily observe that implementing thepresent invention in various environments will naturally require the useof various technologies. However, the present invention is not limitedto any particular division of hardware/software functionality, hardwarecomponents, software languages, or programming techniques. Thus,references within this description identifying design particulars,although in and of themselves may be considered novel and inventive, areprovided only for illustrative purposes and should not be construed tolimit the present invention but rather are additive.

As is more fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,612, but describedhere in general, the various display components of an exemplary system(i.e., the bidding devices 110, the marquee 140 and/or the clerk system130) can be connected or communicatively coupled to the system through anetwork, with each component including a unique network address which isidentified during a login process. Once the login process is complete,the particular component is linked to that network address. At thatpoint, the display component is “tied in” to the system and can startreceiving data to be displayed. One aspect of the invention in the U.S.Pat. No. 6,813,612 is the provision of a base display that is sent tothe display component once the component is tied in to the system. Thebase display may contain a background frame with dynamic display areasremaining blank. Advantageously, this reduces the size of the datapackets required when an operator/system action is taken during thenormal system operation. From this point forward, small data packets aresent to specific cursor addresses on the appropriate display. Forexample, when a floor bid is entered in the bid processing system 110,data packets can be sent to various display devices for updating thestatus of the auction, for instance, the marquee system may be updatedwith the specific bid amount and bidder #, the bidder device 110 can beupdated by providing new values to the bid buttons and the clerk system130 can be updated by providing new bid increments and a log message.

Another factor that is described in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,612 is theability to reduce the update time required for display changes bybroadcasting the same data to all systems connected to a particularnetwork address, primarily the bidder devices 110. Each systemperforming a particular function receives the same data at the same timefrom the bid processing system's 120 perspective. The only delay inreceipt of the information from the bid processing system 120 is theinherent delay in the distance and method of the transmission over theirrespective communication links.

Although the various embodiments of the present invention may bedescribed with reference to a particular network structure, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that various network structures couldbe utilized in various implementations of the present invention. Thus,the various components may be connected through standard TCP/IP internettechnology, as well as other technology including Ethernet, directconnections, wireless networking, etc. or any combination or hybrid ofvarious communication technologies.

One aspect of the present invention is the ability for a remote bidderto simultaneously participate in the independent auctioning of multipleitems. This aspect of the present invention includes a heightenedrequirement on the provision of the display data in that a significantlylarger amount of data must be delivered by the bid processing system,the audio/video system and the catalog system. FIG. 2A is a screen shotof an exemplary display for a bidding device 110 incorporating anembodiment of this aspect of the present invention. The display screenincludes a main bidding screen 210 and a dashboard section 220 for oneor more docked mini-bidding screens 221-223 and a vacant dock 224. Itshould be appreciated that the particular arrangements of the items inthe display, although potentially novel and inventive in and ofthemselves, are not provided as a limiting example of this aspect of thepresent invention. Various features that can be incorporated into thisaspect of the present invention include the ability to customize thedisplay sizes for the main bidding screen 210 and the dashboard section220. In one embodiment, the standard sized dashboard can display a totalof four mini-bidding screens. Additional auctions beyond the fourdisplayed can be initiated and docked into the dashboard but the userwill need to resize the dashboard to see the additional mini-biddingscreens. Various mechanisms for defining and/or adjusting the size ofthe dashboard screen can be employed, such as using the standardMICROSOFT WINDOWS controls of clicking and dragging on the top, bottom,sides or corners of the window. Alternatively, other techniques, such ashorizontal and/or vertical scroll bars may be used to gain access toadditional mini-bidding screens or the screen sizes and ratios can bechanged and adjusted automatically as additional bidding windows areopened. FIG. 2B is a screen shot of an exemplary display that includes adashboard section 240 that has been resized to provide place holders for8 mini-bidding screens, 6 of which are occupied. The main bidding screen240 has been reduced to accommodate the increased window size for thedashboard section.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an exemplary embodiment of the active ormain bidding screen 210. It should be appreciated that the examplepresented is for illustrative purposes only and although the presentedscreen may include novel and inventive elements, the presently describedaspect of the present invention is not limited to the presentedembodiment. The main bidding screen displays the active auction withlive audio and video. The illustrated main bidding screen 210 includesan item description section 310 that includes information about the itempresently up for auction as well as a listing of upcoming items. Themain screen also includes a video section 320 that provides a renderingof the video feed from the auction floor and an audio enable/disablebutton 330. An activity or status section 340 is used to provide updatedinformation to the remote bidder as well as action buttons so that theremote bidder can enter bids, request information, etc.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged screen shot of an exemplary embodiment of amini-bidding screen. The mini-bidding screen illustrated in FIG. 4includes an information area 420 that includes at least some of theinformation that could be displayed in the main bidding window, amessaging section 430 that allows the remote bidder to receive and/orsubmit text messages to the auctioneer or a clerk, and a control/statusarea 440 that allows the remote bidder to watch the action taking placein the particular auction as well as place bids in the auction directlyusing the mini-bidding screen without having to switch from the activeauction. It should be appreciated that the illustrated embodiment,although it may be novel and inventive in and of itself, is not the onlyembodiment suitable for the present invention. For instance, rather thanusing the described dashboard arrangement, the user may be allowed toopen several windows similar to the main bidding screen with each windowfocusing on a particular auction event (i.e., the operations takingplace in a single auction lane, a specific auction, or an auctioning ofa specific item). The windows can be tiled, cascaded or otherwisearranged on the user's computer screen. In one embodiment, a singlewindow can be selected as active, and thus able to receive the audio andvideo streams. In other embodiments, multiple windows can be active,with each receiving the audio and/or video streams. In such anembodiment, the user may be able to mute the audio from particularauctions simply be selecting an audio on/off toggle button similar tobutton 330 in FIG. 3 while maintaining the video feeds. In otherembodiments, the mini-bidding screens may be adjusted to include more orless information than the main bidding screen, may include the exactinformation as the main bidding screen but reformatted or reduced insize, or may be otherwise configured. Additionally, the delivery ofvideo may be available for both the docked and the active biddingwindows. In one embodiment, each of the windows may receive the fullextent of the available video. In other embodiments, the docked biddingwindows may receive video at a slower rate than the active biddingwindow(s), or simply a single still picture of the item being auctionedor even no video elements at all.

Focusing on the embodiment that includes a main bidding screen and oneor more mini-bidding screens docked on the dashboard, the user maychange which auction is displayed in the main bidding screen byperforming a selection action. Non-limiting examples of selectionactions may include clicking on the title bar of the mini-biddingwindow, clicking on a non-control element portion of the mini-biddingwindow or using a minimize/maximize button similar to what is providedin a WINDOWS environment. In some embodiments, the dashboard may includea mini-bidding screen associated with the active or main bidding screen210 as well. In such an embodiment, the mini-bidding window associatedwith the active or main bidding screen 210 can be high-lighted byincluding a colored or darkened boarder, using a different color schemeor using other differentiating mechanisms. FIG. 5 is an enlarged screenshot of an exemplary embodiment of a mini-bidding screen that isassociated with an active or main bidding screen and that is shown asresiding in an auto bid mode. In this embodiment, the fact that themini-bidding screen is associated with the main bidding screen isindicated by providing a dark solid border 510 around the mini-biddingwindow. The indication of the auto bid mode illustrates that the variousbidding window can operate in different bidding modes.

In another embodiment of the present invention, switching the state ofthe various bidding windows can be automated or semi-automated byapplying certain rules or detecting certain events. For instance, if aremote bidder is actively participating in an auction displayed in anactive bidding window, if the current bid exceeds a threshold amount,such as the maximum amount a dealer is willing to pay for a particularitem, the active bidding screen could automatically be switched to thedocked status. Similarly, a docked bidding screen may be switched to theactive state to accommodate the transition of a currently active statebidding window to the docked state, or based on other rules and events.As a non-limiting example, a docked bidding screen may be automaticallyswitched to an active state when a certain item is introduced to thebidding floor. Other events or rules that can be applied include, butare not limited to, switching a docked bidding window to the activestate when bidding activity is slowed down, a particular bidder isidentified as participating in the auction, a particular bidder is notparticipating in the auction, a minimum threshold bid is reached, anauto-bid value set by the remote bidder has been exceeded by anotherparticipant, the remote bidder ends up losing another bidding battle, orthe like. As another example, a remote bidder may set up a schedule ofparticular items for which the bidder is interested. The bidding device110 can be programmed to automatically change the states of biddingwindows associated with items identified in the schedule as the itemsare introduced to the auction floor and/or as the bidding processterminates for these items. Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat a variety of rules for automatically changing the states of thebidding windows can be identified and employed in this aspect of thepresent invention. In addition, rather than automatically changing thestates of the various bidding windows, the bidding device can simplyprompt the remote bidder of a particular event that may encourage theremote bidder to change the state of one or more bidding window.

It will also be appreciated that control mechanisms can be establishedthat would allow the auctioneer, the bid processing system or a clerk toexert control over the state of the bidding windows currently open on abidding device. For instance, if the auctioneer is aware that aparticular remote bidder has shown an interest in a certain category ofproducts, the auctioneer may cause a message to be sent to the biddingdevice for that remote bidder. The bidding device in turn can eitherprompt the remote bidder to change the state of a bidding window orautomatically change the state of the bidding window.

Thus, it will be appreciated that the state of bidding windows can bechanged in response to a selection indicator. The selection indicatorcan be an action by a remote bidder, the occurrence of an event, anaction by an auctioneer or a bid processing system, a timer or othersimilar criteria.

In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 2-5, the bid buttons displayedin the various bidding screens (e.g. main bidding screen andmini-bidding screens) are active bid buttons. Thus, a remote bidder canbid on any of the docked mini-bidding screens, as well as the mainbidding screen, at any time simply by clicking on the associated bidbutton. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the active bid button410 shows that the next available bid that can be entered is $12,800.Clicking on the bid button of an inactive mini-bidding screen willsubmit the bid but, will not cause that auction to become active (i.e.,switch that auction to the main bidding screen—although it will beappreciated that the system could be configured to utilize such actionas one that would result in switching the auction to the main biddingscreen). In other embodiments, other control elements in addition to thebid button may also be defined. As a non-limiting example, a textmessage capability may be provided in the mini-bidding window that wouldallow the remote bidder to send a text message to the auctioneer or aclerk requesting pertinent information about the auction withoutrequiring the remote bidder to select the pertinent auction to be theactive auction.

In an implementation of this aspect of the present invention, thedisplay information pertaining to the various auctions must be providedto the bidding devices 110. In addition, the bidding information andother actions of the remote bidders must be processed for the variousauctions. It should be appreciated that a variety of system and designarchitectures can be utilized to satisfy these requirements. Forinstance, in one embodiment, a completely separate system similar to thesystem described in FIG. 1 (e.g., bid processing system and audio/videosystem) can be provided for each auction or each auction lane. In thisembodiment, the separate systems will independently communicate withvarious bidding devices 110. The bidding devices 110 then must separateout the information from the various systems and display thisinformation accordingly. In such an embodiment, all information providedfrom the various systems may include an identification tag thatidentifies the pertinent auction. Likewise, the bidding devices 110 mustdirect bid information and other requests to the appropriate biddingsystem.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a single master systemmay collect the information to be provided to the various biddingdevices and to receive and process the bidding information provided bythe bidding devices. Thus, each auction lane or auction could include anaudio source, a video source and an interface to the auctioneer/clerkthat all feed into the master system. It will be appreciated that thoseskilled in the art may identify other alternative architectures that canmeet the technical requirements for implementing this aspect of thepresent invention without departing from the spirit and scope of thisaspect of the invention.

Another aspect of the present invention is providing tracking supportfor remote bidders, such as a broker buyer, to facilitate keeping trackof the company, dealer or entity on whose behalf the broker buyer isbidding on the asset. FIG. 6 is a screen shot of a main or activebidding window 610 that includes an embodiment of the broker buyertracking aspect of the present invention. In general, a broker buyer mayoperate to purchase assets at one or more auctions for multiplecustomers (i.e., dealers). With the fast pace of the auctioningenvironment, a broker buyer could find himself at the end of the daywith a list of purchased assets and facing the task of sorting out whichassets should be attributed to which customers. This aspect of thepresent invention alleviates this burden by allowing the remote bidderto identify the customer for which the assets are being purchased. Inthe illustrated embodiment, a pull-down menu is provided to allow theremote bidder to select the customer or dealer associated with thebidding for a particular item or auctioning event. In other embodiments,the remote bidder may be able to manually enter identificationinformation rather than using a pull down menu. Once the selection ismade by the remote bidder, this information can be provided to the bidprocessing system. The bid processing system can then generate a reportat the end of an auctioning event identifying the bidder that won theauction and including the identification of the customer or dealer.Alternatively, the customer-identification information may be maintainedwithin the bidding device which can then generate a report for theremote bidder indicating which items were won in the auctioning processand the customer identification for each such item.

In yet another embodiment, the selection or entering of identificationinformation may not only be used to identify the customer for which anasset has been purchased, but may also be used to assert some controlover the bidding process for the particular auctioning event or itembeing auctioned. For instance, a remote bidder may have customers withgreat variances in what they are willing pay for items, how many itemsthey are interested in acquiring, bidding strategies that they want toutilize, etc. With this aspect of the present invention, once the remotebidder selects or identifies the customer associated with a particularauctioning event or the auctioning of a particular item, a database canbe accessed to determine the particular bidding characteristics desiredby that customer.

As a non-limiting example, customer A may set a cap at $18,000 for aparticular class of item or a particular item, etc. Once the remotebidder selects customer A for an auction, the remote bidder does nothave to keep track of such restrictions imposed by the customer. Rather,the bidding device can automatically stop bidding for items in theparticular class for customer A once the maximum bid of $18,000 isreached.

As another non-limiting example, a single bidding screen may beassociated with an auctioning event, wherein an auctioning event isdefined as the activity occurring in a single lane for a given period oftime. By selecting a particular customer, information can be retrievedby the bidding device to automate some or all of the bidding process forthat auctioning event. The retrieved information may include the type ofassets the customer is interested in, the type of assets the customer isnot interested in, the top dollar the customer is willing to pay for aparticular asset, the minimum bid that must be reached before bidding,the sequence of bid raising, bidding strategy, the preferred bidincrements, etc. With such information, one can appreciate that thebidding device can assume significant work effort in the biddingprocess, thereby freeing the remote bidder to monitor and participate inmore auctions.

FIGS. 7A-7C are flow diagrams illustrating the operations involved in aparticular embodiment of aspects of the present invention operatingwithin a bidding device. At step 702, an action request from either aremote bidder or a bid processing system is received at the biddingdevice. The action request is analyzed at step 704 and appropriateactions are invoked.

If the action request is a request from a remote bidder to open a newbidding window, processing continues at point A in FIG. 7A. At step 706,the process determines if any bidding windows are open. If no biddingwindows are open, processing continues at step 708 where a new biddingwindow is opened in response to the request and the new window is set asthe active bidding window. If at step 706 it is determined that at leastone bidding window has already been opened, processing continues at step710 where a new bidding window is open and docked in the dashboard. Itshould be appreciated that other rules for determining which windows areopened in the active state versus the docked state can be applied. Forinstance, all windows can be opened in a docked state and later movedinto an active state. Alternatively, the last bidding window opened mayassume the active state with all previous bidding windows be placed intothe docked state. In yet another embodiment, all windows may be openedin the active state and later moved into the docked state either upon anaction by the remote bidder or based on other rules and event. Aftercompletion of either step 708 or 710, processing continues at step 712where any window resize adjustments required to display the open windowsare performed. Processing then returns to step 702 to await the nextaction request.

If the action request is a request from a remote bidder to close abidding window, processing continues at point B in FIG. 7B. At step 714,the process determines if the closing window associated with the requestis the active window. If the request is associated with an activewindow, processing continues at step 716 where the active window isclosed and then to step 718 where one of the docked windows, such as theoldest docked window, is set to the active window. It will beappreciated that other rules for determining that state of other biddingwindows may also be applied. Non-limiting examples include requiring theuser to select a new active window, selecting a new active window basedon previously established rules, or the like. If at step 714 the requestis associated with a docked window, processing continues at step 720where the docked window is closed. After either step 718 or step 720,processing continues at step 722 where any window resize adjustmentsrequired to display the open windows are performed. Processing thenreturns to step 702 to await the next action request.

If the action request is a request from a remote bidder to enter a bid,processing continues at point C in FIG. 7B. At step 724, the processdetermines the identity of the window associated with the bid. At step726, the entered bid is sent to the appropriate bid processing system(the one associated with the bidding window) or to the bidding systemwith an indication of the particular auctioning event with which the bidis associated. It will be appreciated that this process can be performedfor both the active bidding windows, as well as docked mini-biddingwindows. Processing then returns to step 702 to await the next actionrequest.

If the action is a status update received from the bid processingsystem, processing continues at point D in FIG. 7B. At step 728, thestatus for an auction event is received from the bid processing system.At step 730 the process determines the identity of the bidding windowassociated with the status information. Once this determination is made,the process updates the bidding window with the new status information.It will be appreciated that this process can be performed for both theactive bidding windows, as well as docked mini-bidding windows.Processing then returns to step 702 to await the next action request.

If the action is a request from the remote bidder to select a new oradditional active window, processing continues at point E in FIG. 7C. Atstep 734, the process determines the identity of the window associatedwith the selection request. At step 736, if the embodiment only supportsone active bidding window, then the currently active bidding window ismoved to the dashboard and then at step 738, the selected dockedmini-bidding window is moved to the active window. In an alternativeembodiment that allows for multiple bidding windows to be active and thethreshold number of active bidding windows has not been met, then theselected docked mini-bidding window is simply moved to the activebidding window status. Processing then returns to step 702 to await thenext action request.

If the action is a request from the remote bidder to select acustomer-identification for a particular bidding window, processingcontinues at point F in FIG. 7C. At step 740 the process determines theidentity of the bidding window associated with thecustomer-identification selection. At step 742, the customer specificdata associated with the customer-identification is retrieved. At step744, this information is then applied to control the bidding processassociated with the bidding window or simply to associate the results ofthe bidding process with the particular customer. Processing thenreturns to step 702 to await the next action request.

FIG. 8 is a screen shot representing another aspect or feature that canbe incorporated into various embodiments. The illustrated screen shot isa base bidder display that transforms during the auctioning process tobecome a seller rep display. The screen 800 thus includes a seller repfunction block 810 which includes a button to approve a sell at acurrent high bid amount 812, a dialog box fur submitting a counter offerto the auction/high bidder along with a submit button 814, a button 816to reject the sale at a price lower than the floor/reserve price and abutton to activate an “if sale” condition 818. In addition, the sellerhas a tabularized box in which the seller can select one of a variety oftabbed pages. In the illustrated embodiment, the tabbed pages include apage to show the bid history for a current item 820, a tab to view thesale inventory for an auction 822 and a tab to open a chat dialog withthe clerk and/or auctioneer 824. Thus, when a seller's item is “on theauction block” the screen, based on the seller ID in the database, thencan take on the look of the illustrated screen.

FIG. 9 is a screen shot illustrating a multi-lane login feature from theuser interface. In the illustrated screen shot, the functionality ofbeing able to launch additional lanes without having to go back to themain website is illustrated. Thus, the user can be monitoring and/orparticipating in a current auctioning event using a mobile device, suchas a mobile smart phone or a dedicated OEM type device, as well as adesktop or laptop computer system, or a tablet, etc. Similar to theabove-described embodiments, the screen 900 may include an auctionbidding dashboard 910. The user can bid directly from the dashboard orchange the current “auction in view” to one of the auctions presented inthe dashboard 910. From this screen, the user can cause the auctioncontrol dashboard 920 to pop up and thus present the user with a list ofpossible lanes that the user is authorized or permitted to attend. Inaddition, in the auction control dashboard includes the status of theauction such as providing the run number, the high bid price, etc. Theuser can add any lane/ring to the auction bidding dashboard simply byselecting the add button illustrated as a circle with a “+” 922 in theillustrated screen shot, dragging the lane/ring over to the dashboard,double clicking on the lane/ring, etc. The user can also modify thepriority of the ring in the list by selecting the icon preceding thelane/ring name on the bar 924. Thus, the user can be notified or gainaccess to list of auctioning events that are taking place and for whichthe user is able to participate. This list may be generated based on thebuyers interest, sellers interest, detected and/or monitored activity ofthe user, profile information of the user, bid history or purchasehistory of the user, as well as other factors. The user can then observethe available events and then easily add the events to the user'sdashboard for direct bidding or participation from the dashboard or, bysetting the auction as the current auction.

FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B are two screen shots illustrating a mobileembodiment of the auction control dashboard. In FIG. 10A, the screen isshown as displaying a current auctioning event 1000. If the useractuates the select auction button 1010, the screen switches to theauction control dashboard as illustrated in FIG. 10B. In the auctioncontrol dashboard 1020, the user can select a different lane/ring toattend. In the illustrated example, three lane/rings are shown as beingavailable with a Fleet Lease starting at 9:30 AM for a 2002 ChevroletImpala 1030, a Repo Sale at 12 PM—which is active—for a 2004 ChevroletBlazer 1032 and a Santander Sale at 10 AM for a 2006 Honda Civic EX1034.

FIG. 11 is a screen shot of a portable embodiment showing that themobile environment can include audio and video during the auctioningevent. The screen 1100 includes soft buttons to allow the user to gainaccess to audio controls 1110 and video controls 1120. The video 1130 ispresented directly on the user screen of the mobile device.

The embodiments described herein have focused on multiple auctioningevents occurring in a single auction house. However, it will beappreciated that the various aspects and features of the presentinvention are not limited to operation for a single auction house.Rather, the active and mini-bidding screens displayed to a remote biddercan represent auctions that are taking place on a global basis.Advantageously, the present invention allows a single bidding entity tothen cover multiple simultaneously occurring auctions being performed ingeographically dispersed locations.

The present invention has been described using detailed descriptions ofembodiments thereof that are provided by way of example and are notintended to limit the scope of the invention. The described embodimentscomprise different features, not all of which are required in allembodiments of the invention. Some embodiments of the present inventionutilize only some of the features or aspects or possible combinations ofthe features or aspects. Variations of embodiments of the presentinvention that are described and embodiments of the present inventioncomprising different combinations of features noted in the describedembodiments will occur to persons of skill in the art. The presentinvention may be implemented by any one of, or any combination of,software, hardware, and/or firmware. In the description and claims, eachof the verbs, “comprise” “include” and “have”, and conjugates thereof,are used to indicate that the object or objects of the verb are notnecessarily a complete listing of members, components, elements or partsof the subject or subjects of the verb.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for enabling a bidder to activelyparticipate in and monitor multiple simultaneous auctioning events usinga single bidding device with a display, the method comprising the stepsof: communicatively coupling the bidding device to a network that iscommunicatively coupled to one or more bid processing system servers;the bidding device receiving over the network, auction statusinformation for a plurality of active auctioning events from the one ormore bid processing system servers; upon receiving the auction statusinformation, the bidding device creating and displaying a dashboardwindow for at least two or more of the active auctioning events, whereineach of the dashboard windows is displayed in a first area of a displayof the bidding device; the bidding device populating each of the two ormore dashboard windows with a first level of the auction statusinformation such that each of the two or more dashboard windows isassociated with an auctioning event of the plurality of auctioningevents and each of the associated auctioning events are auctioningevents in which the bidder can actively participate; the bidding devicepresenting a bidding actuator in each of the two or more dashboardwindows, wherein the bidding actuator of each dashboard window can beactuated by a bidder to take an action in the associated auctioningevent, wherein a user can participate in the auctioning event throughthe displayed two or more dashboard windows; the bidding devicereceiving a user selection of one of the one of the two or moredashboard windows; in response to receiving the user selection, thebidding device displaying a main bidding window within a second area ofthe display; the bidding device populating the main bidding window witha second level of auction status information for the auctioning eventassociated with the selected dashboard window, wherein the second levelof auction status includes more detail pertaining to the associatedauctioning event than the first level of auction status; the biddingdevice presenting one or more bidding actuators in the main biddingwindow, wherein the one or more bidding actuators of the main biddingwindow can be actuated by a bidder to take an action in the associatedauctioning event, wherein a user can participate in the auctioning eventthrough the displayed main bidding window; and the bidding deviceassociating an identifier for each of the auctioning events associatedwith each of the dashboard windows, wherein the identifier is uniquelyassociated with a customer; and the bidding device receiving anactuation of a particular bidding actuator associated with a particulardashboard window or an actuation of a main bidding window actuatorassociated with the auctioning event associated with the main biddingwindow, wherein upon receipt of the actuation the bidding deviceforwards a signal to the bid processing system managing the auctioningevent associated with the actuated bidding actuator, wherein the bidprocessing system can respond to the activity associated with the bidactuator.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: thebidding device receiving a user selection of different one of the two ormore dashboard windows; and the bidding device populating the mainbidding window with a second level of auction status information for theauctioning event associated with the different one of the selecteddashboard windows.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the bidding deviceis operable to receive an audio stream from an audio/video system,wherein the audio stream is associated with the auctioning event of theselected dashboard window and further comprising the step of renderingthe audio stream of the auctioning event associated with the selecteddashboard window.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the bidding deviceis operable to receive a video stream from an audio/video system,wherein the video stream is associated the auctioning event of theselected dashboard window and further comprising the step of renderingthe audio stream of the auctioning event associated with the selecteddashboard window.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the bidding deviceis operable to receive audio and video streams from audio/video systemsassociated with the plurality of auctioning events and furthercomprising the steps of: rendering each video stream for each of theauctioning events associated with a dashboard window within theappropriate dashboard window; rendering the video stream for theauctioning events associated with the selected dashboard window withinthe main bidding window; and rendering the audio stream of theauctioning event associated with the selected dashboard window.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the video streams rendered in the dashboardwindows are rendered at a reduced quality level relative to the qualitylevel of the video stream rendered in the main bidding window.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the bidding device is operable to receiveaudio and video streams from audio/video systems associated with theplurality of auctioning events and further comprising the steps of:rendering the video stream of the auctioning event associated with theselected dashboard window; and rendering the audio stream of theauctioning event associated with the selected dashboard window.
 8. Abidding device that enables a bidder to actively participate in andconcurrently monitor multiple auctioning events and to enter additionalauctioning events directly from the bidding device, the bidding devicecomprising: a display; a user input interface; a network interface toone or more bid processing system servers; a processing unit configuredto: present a list of two or more auctioning events available for abidder to participate in; receive a selection from the user inputinterface to select a first auctioning event and presenting a firstdashboard window within a first area of the display, the first dashboardwindow being associated with the first auctioning event, inclusive of atleast one active control and mapped to a first customer identifier andincluding a first level of information pertaining to the firstauctioning event; receive a selection from the user input interface toselect a second auctioning event and presenting a second dashboardwindow within the first area of the display, the second dashboard windowbeing associated with the second auctioning event, inclusive of at leastone active control and mapped to a second customer identifier andincluding a first level of information pertaining to the secondauctioning event; receive an actuation of the first dashboard windowactive bidding control, wherein upon receipt of the actuation, thebidding device forwards a signal to the bid processing system managingthe first auctioning event; receive an actuation of the second dashboardwindow bidding active bidding control, wherein upon receipt of theactuation the bidding device forwards a signal to the bid processingsystem managing the second auctioning event; receive a selection of thefirst dashboard window; and present a main bidding window within asecond area of the display and display information at a second level ofdetail pertaining to a first auctioning event, wherein the second levelof detail includes more information than the first level of detail. 9.The bidding device of claim 8, further comprising an audio outputinterface and an audio data input interface, and the processing unit isfurther configured to: receive audio data over the audio data inputinterface representing the audio feed for one or more auctioning events,the audio data including at least the audio data associated with theauctioning event associated with the main bidding window; and provideaudio data to the audio output interface for the auctioning eventassociated with the active state bidding window.
 10. The bidding deviceof claim 8, wherein in response to receiving a selection of the seconddashboard window, the processing unit is further operable to display inthe main bidding window, information at a second level of detailpertaining to a second auctioning event, wherein the second level ofdetail includes more information than the first level of detail.